At the risk of turning this into an epeen measuring contest -- do you happen to be the kind of person who would call themselves a "vet" even though they didn't play until after EotN, or have you actually been around since 2004?

To set the record straight I'm still playing and enjoying GW2, at this point I'd much rather play it than GW1 or WoW, but ANet has very clearly failed to deliver on numerous promises, with an abundance of major issues not even being ADDRESSED - let alone resolved - 3 months after release. To say the direction they appear to be taking the game is concerning would be a massive understatement. A lot of things need to improve for this game to even have a chance at the kind of longevity that games like WoW and GW1 have enjoyed. I've had this nagging suspicion for a long time that, for whatever reason, the financial positioning has always been about massive short-term profits. IMO they've been doing exactly that. Actually I know when it started... March 20th, 2012. Something about this blog post just didn't sit right, and re-reading it now I still have the same sinking feeling. Actually it's a bit better now, because I have the ability to point at parts of it as manifesto-level bullshit.

Originally Posted by Exroyal

why would i QQ about it unless they implement a game changing addition?

Like ascended gear? Or Fractals (which ironically is the one and only thing I really enjoyed from the November update)? trollololol

Originally Posted by nurseman

Hated GW1 dont really like GW2 are we making a point? I think the guy was implying that those blindly bashing the game have left and those left behind bashing the game are GW1 vets, I doubt hes implying every person who liked GW1 dhates gw2, well he might be that naive.

Ouch. But yes, I was saying the people complaining the loudest are almost certainly GW1 vets. But hey anecdotal "herpaderp I like both games so ur rong" is all the proof you need when you have no substantive response. Hell, I like both games... damn, made my own point irrelevant I guess? The difference in how the two games have been managed in the first few months is night and day, as is pretty much everything about ANet from then and now.

At the risk of turning this into an epeen measuring contest -- do you happen to be the kind of person who would call themselves a "vet" even though they didn't play until after EotN, or have you actually been around since 2004?

I don't really recall when I got Prophecy, it was long before EotN, and I actually never got Factions. I played for 3 years before moving over to WoW.

To set the record straight I'm still playing and enjoying GW2, at this point I'd much rather play it than GW1 or WoW, but ANet has very clearly failed to deliver on numerous promises,

I still have the magazine where they promised me that I could bring my minipets forward from GW1 to 2. Due to an error on my part that customer service wouldn't fix, I got no legacy stuff at all, but oh well, not a big deal.

The manifesto wasn't delivered on, but enough of it was in game/style to keep me happy. I really do wonder how people read the pre-release stuff and thought the game would have some endgame system that was different than the rest of the game though.

A lot of things need to improve for this game to even have a chance at the kind of longevity that games like WoW and GW1 have enjoyed. I've had this nagging suspicion for a long time that, for whatever reason, the financial positioning has always been about massive short-term profits. IMO they've been doing exactly that.

Well, they can keep up updating, but need resources for such, or they can slack off and lose customers but do less. Either way I think it'll work out long term for them. The advantage to the model is no risk at this point. If they piss me off and I leave, I've lost nothing more and can always hop back in later if it returns to what I want.

Like ascended gear? Or Fractals (which ironically is the one and only thing I really enjoyed from the November update)? trollololol

Until the impact of Ascended Gear is felt over time, we won't really KNOW what the effect is. It could be the begining of the end, or it could just be a facet that no one remembers being odd, 6 months from now.

Ouch. But yes, I was saying the people complaining the loudest are almost certainly GW1 vets. But hey anecdotal "herpaderp I like both games so ur rong" is all the proof you need when you have no substantive response. Hell, I like both games... damn, made my own point irrelevant I guess? The difference in how the two games have been managed in the first few months is night and day, as is pretty much everything about ANet from then and now.

Does it really matter why bitter folks are bitter? "I played GW1 so I expect more!" or "this isn't the Anet I knew back in ye olden days of yore!" are as equally worthless as "GW2 people trolled WoW forums at some point, so I hate them and want them to fail". Letting emotions guide an opinion and then clogging a forum with them on barely related topics isn't exactly useful.

lol it's cause it's not, i have yet to hear a true negative from Fractals, everyone i've heard bitch about fractals only argument is "It brought ascended gear!" or "It has the agony mechanic!" nothing meaningful...

Here's 2 meaningful arguments:
1) It funnels players to a single dungeon in the already central hub city, further discouraging any kind of diversification of dungeons players run.
2) By adding a "level" feature you significantly fracture your playerbase, which is made even more awesome by the lack of a funcitonal LFG tool.

An individual being blind to the consequences or not being able to see past the end of their nose doesn't make something less meaningful.

Originally Posted by Exroyal

Didn't know that adding Fractals was negative. Sorry that those + 2% efficency broke the game for you with the addition of Ascended gear.

You picked out a 2 line piece of my post and managed to ignore half of it, well done sir. Ascended gear and fractals are both game-changing additions for many people. But I know, I know, that's irrelevant because you don't agree personally. Or is that just denial from leaving me such an easy call out.

Originally Posted by Svifnymr

Until the impact of Ascended Gear is felt over time, we won't really KNOW what the effect is. It could be the begining of the end, or it could just be a facet that no one remembers being odd, 6 months from now.

Almost certainly the latter because people like to be dramatic, but it is still a major shift in game design.

Does it really matter why bitter folks are bitter? "I played GW1 so I expect more!" or "this isn't the Anet I knew back in ye olden days of yore!" are as equally worthless as "GW2 people trolled WoW forums at some point, so I hate them and want them to fail". Letting emotions guide an opinion and then clogging a forum with them on barely related topics isn't exactly useful.

I fully agree on the emotions thing, but it's how most people make their opinions known. But that's not what I'm doing, I'm pointing out the shifts we've seen from ANet over the years, yet the people who are doing exactly what you're talking about on the other end of the spectrum: "*I* love this game, so your argument is invalid!" are the ones stifling any kind of useful discourse.

2) By adding a "level" feature you significantly fracture your playerbase, which is made even more awesome by the lack of a funcitonal LFG tool.

I felt the same way, but I found this epic website called www.gw2LFG.com and you can find a group there quickly. Every time I have used it, Ive found a group in less than 5 minutes. And that is NOT an exaggeration. Further proving the fact that Anet needs to add a dungeon finder tool to the game, regardless of what the stupid "OMFG LFG RUINED WOW" crowd say. The popularity of this website is undeniable proof.

I felt the same way, but I found this epic website called www.gw2LFG.com and you can find a group there quickly. Every time I have used it, Ive found a group in less than 5 minutes. And that is NOT an exaggeration. Further proving the fact that Anet needs to add a dungeon finder tool to the game, regardless of what the stupid "OMFG LFG RUINED WOW" crowd say. The popularity of this website is undeniable proof.

I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but that's what I've been hearing. I'm pretty sure there's confusion in the discussion over the LFG thing and WoW, where AFAIK most people are asking for a website like that built into the game, not an automated dungeon finder that does ALL the work for you.

I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but that's what I've been hearing. I'm pretty sure there's confusion in the discussion over the LFG thing and WoW, where AFAIK most people are asking for a website like that built into the game, not an automated dungeon finder that does ALL the work for you.

Well, I dont think it needs to teleport you to the dungeon. But I would like a tool that auto groups you. Its needed. And GW2LFG.com shows just how badly its needed.

The only difference would be that it doesnt take you right into the dungeon. But with the teleport waypoint system, you dont need the tool to do that for you.

My negative with fractals is for the lvl 1-9 tier that some bosses are just stupid easy, some bosses have lame mechanics.

Though I hear at lvl 10+ bosses get mechanically changed. The kitty boss with the fan has energy crystals you need to run in order to start the fan or something. I like the sound of it.

I'm not lvl 10 yet because I can't find a group to do anything or even a guild.

Use www.GW2LFG.com and you will find a group within 5 minutes. Just make sure you stay in the overflow server (leave the entry queue). I was in the same boat as you, and a friend introduced me to the website and I use it every day now. You dont need to sign up for anything either, you just type in your characters name and chose a dungeon and click submit. It puts you in a large list that can be sorted by dungeon or Fractal Level and you should receive an invite within minutes.

Just remember to delete your post once you find a group or you will be spammed with invites for hours.

My negative with fractals is for the lvl 1-9 tier that some bosses are just stupid easy, some bosses have lame mechanics.

Though I hear at lvl 10+ bosses get mechanically changed. The kitty boss with the fan has energy crystals you need to run in order to start the fan or something. I like the sound of it.

I'm not lvl 10 yet because I can't find a group to do anything or even a guild.

Idk how everyone else has issues finding groups O.o, I either yell LfXM for fractals lv Y and get absolutely clobbered with people throwing invites at me...

@Drakhar, well not gonna lie, that second one isn't a problem because you can go to lower lvs to help, it only becomes a problem when people are to good to go to your lv (oh look half the MMO community...), I personally will jump down a lv to help people out, I -would- do more than 1 lv but I only play an average of 9hrs a week, so... Yeah... Kinda wanna progress at least one level when I do fractals... As for the funneling thing, most people I've talked to only do fractals over the other dungeons because, well frankly, the otherones just suck compared to fractals, are they fun? Yeah, but are they as fun as fractals? Not even close for the most part! However, Anet is an intelligent bunch and knows this which I why they're going back through the other dungeons and making them on par with fractals.

PS: before anyone goes "Zomg but fractals has MOAR loots!" Fractals doesn't have the wonder bags, period, that means you don't get any bonus karma which really sucks IMO.

Originally Posted by draykorinee

Youre in the mmo forums and you find mmos boring, Im heading on over to the twilight forums to add my unecessary and shallow 2 cents.

You picked out a 2 line piece of my post and managed to ignore half of it, well done sir. Ascended gear and fractals are both game-changing additions for many people. But I know, I know, that's irrelevant because you don't agree personally. Or is that just denial from leaving me such an easy call out.

I don't see how the Fractals are game changing. Maybe in a positive way, but how in the world are the Fractals negative? Just as many people who mind the addition the ascended gear, there are that many who don't. This is not a personal opinion. And i picked out 2 lines because those two lines were directed at me, if theres something directed towards me i disregard the other points you write to others.

I don't see how the Fractals are game changing. Maybe in a positive way, but how in the world are the Fractals negative? Just as many people who mind the addition the ascended gear, there are that many who don't. This is not a personal opinion. And i picked out 2 lines because those two lines were directed at me, if theres something directed towards me i disregard the other points you write to others.

Well the game is dying without a gear treadmill so Anet realizes they need to add one. It pisses people off that don't like grind, but most successful MMO's are grindy like GW2 has become. I don't have an issue with the grind personally, I enjoy meaningful goals that take time and give you bonuses over noobs who don't take the time to grind. My issue with GW2 is it is BORING.

Well the game is dying without a gear treadmill so Anet realizes they need to add one. It pisses people off that don't like grind, but most successful MMO's are grindy like GW2 has become. I don't have an issue with the grind personally, I enjoy meaningful goals that take time and give you bonuses over noobs who don't take the time to grind. My issue with GW2 is it is BORING.

The game wasn't dyiing without a gear treadmill stop living in your fantasy land, the game was actually thriving, ESPECIALLY during the events. This game is DESIGNED so people can take breaks, the gear wasn't added because people were leaving, if -anything- it was added to divert the attention of people going for legendaries, IE people were getting them a lot faster then Anet wanted, so they threw some grindy objects out there to get the people who "Must have everything!!" to divert their attention and resources to go for the increased stat items instead of the sparkly armor.

Well played Anet, well played...

Originally Posted by draykorinee

Youre in the mmo forums and you find mmos boring, Im heading on over to the twilight forums to add my unecessary and shallow 2 cents.

Well the game is dying without a gear treadmill so Anet realizes they need to add one. It pisses people off that don't like grind, but most successful MMO's are grindy like GW2 has become. I don't have an issue with the grind personally, I enjoy meaningful goals that take time and give you bonuses over noobs who don't take the time to grind. My issue with GW2 is it is BORING.

Couldn't be more contrary to the truth. They decided to try to retain the retarded "lulz WoW is the only MMO there is and every other MMO must be exactly like it or else it's bad herpaderpaderp" crowd by catering to them on yet another issue. Aaaannnd in turn they continue to succeed in their quest to alienate the group of people that made them successful in the first place.

Couldn't be more contrary to the truth. They decided to try to retain the retarded "lulz WoW is the only MMO there is and every other MMO must be exactly like it or else it's bad herpaderpaderp" crowd by catering to them on yet another issue. Aaaannnd in turn they continue to succeed in their quest to alienate the group of people that made them successful in the first place.

I believe they alienated the crowd that made them successful in the first place about 2 months prior to launch, when they basically tore up their manifesto and implemented that horrid cash shop, along with many gameplay changes that increased the grind. The game is now being tuned more and more to force you to the cash shop. Auction house manipulations, forced grind, money sinks, etc. Many of us complained about that when it was announced and we have been proven correct unfortunately...